Who are the most powerful people in America?

Google says the most powerful people in America are people like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerburg, Ben Bernanke, and Bill Clinton. Many say the senior level executives a the major banks and financial institutions are the most powerful. Other options might be military leaders, or the rich and famous. While those people are certainly at the top of their professions and have name recognition, they’re not the most powerful people in America. Not by a long shot.

Is power determined by money, or influence, or both?

The most powerful people in America are those that have lost hope for the future. Maybe they don’t vote because “their vote doesn’t matter.” They’re assailed by constant negativity from the press and television, and see little opportunity as a result. They’re preyed on by companies looking to make a quick buck on the financially illiterate. Prosperity is something only seen on TV, “for other people.” More than that, they’ve surrounded themselves with people that believe the same. “Nobody cares about us.”

Today, millions of Americans believe that our government (city, state, and federal) will save them. That somehow electing the right official (but clearly not the other one) will save them from the troubles and pain they’re feeling day to day. The reality? Outsourcing “hope” simply doesn’t work.

We believe that the future of our country, and its recovery, will be fueled by those who believe that real change starts with the person in the mirror. It’s in their homes, and in their communities. It’s not just in their actions, but in every thought and sentence.

How do we get there? How do we reach these people, and how do we help them understand the power that dwells within? Slowly, methodically, and with the help of their Peers.